Up until now, small vehicles have had either very poor characteristics in terms of crash behavior for the front, rear and sides of the vehicle, along with a simultaneously constricted feeling for the occupants, or else larger outer dimensions with the same small interior and thus a poor space-utilization coefficient without the advantages of a considerable reduction in surface area.
An object of the present invention is thus to present a design for a small two-seater car, which, with a minimal surface-area requirement, is intended to offer the greatest possible degree of safety to the occupants, without greater outlay in terms of structure and weight-increasing materials.
This object is achieved according to the invention by a combination of the following features:
a) the passenger seat is arranged to be longitudinally offset to the rear, by up to half the depth of a seat cushion, with respect to the driver's seat located beside it; PA1 b) a dashboard arranged in front of the seats extends back, with its side which is directed towards the seats, in its passenger-rider region to such an extent that the distance between the dashboard and seat front edge is approximately the same for both the driver's seat and the passenger seat; PA1 c) outer frame side members extend in a bent-off section in the region of the rear axle, up to at least the level of the tire upper edge, such that at least the passenger seat is protected with respect to side impact forces; and PA1 d) the bodywork of the vehicle has virtually no overhang beyond the rear wheels, with the result that, in the event of a rear impact, the rear axle is used to absorb impact forces before more pronounced intrusion to the rear takes place.
Feature a) makes it possible that, by virtue of the driver/passenger seat arrangement which is longitudinally offset by up to half the depth of a seat cushion, the seats can move nearer to the center of the vehicle without the occupants sitting shoulder to shoulder, that the occupants are given a considerably greater sense of space and the driver has a considerably better all-round view, and that, despite the small width of the bodywork, a greater distance between the occupants and the outer edge of the vehicle is achieved, this being important both from safety aspects and psychologically. In preferred embodiments, the in use position of the passenger seat is configured to be between 10 cm and 30 cm (preferably about 20 cm) to the rear of the in use position of the driver's seat. In especially preferred embodiments, the seats are longitudinally adjustable to accommodate different size passengers and the like. The basic design concept is to maintain the two seats offset longitudinally from one another during normal driving operations.
Feature b) achieves the fact that, despite the seat arrangement according to feature a), the distance between the passenger seat and the dashboard remains largely the same or, at most, differs only to the extent that, here too, a passenger airbag with a normal filling volume can be used. In preferred embodiments, the rearward protrusion of the dashboard on the passenger side, as compared to the driver's side, corresponds substantially to the longitudinal offset of the seats.
In conjunction with feature a), feature c) makes it possible for frame side members, which are necessary in any case, to provide effective side-impact protection in the region of the rearwardly offset passenger seat, without any further structural outlay.
Finally, feature d) makes possible--likewise without extra weight-increasing outlay--effective protection of the vehicle occupants in the event of a rear impact, this being aided further by the special arrangement of a frame crossmember, which is necessary in any case.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.